Baked on the Beach

Brightblack Morning Light's about to waft into town.

What's not to love about Brightblack Morning Light? Their narcotic shoegazer-gospel grooves sound like a cross between Spiritualized, Acetone, and Mojave 3; they live in tents out in the woods (and not just while they're out on tour); they smoke more weed than Cheech and Chong; and sometimes one of their dogs can be spotted laying onstage during their performances. They're playing the Triple Door on Saturday night -- if you don't know how to get there, walk around downtown until you smell the pot fumes and then just follow your nose. After the jump is a small part of an interview I did with principal members Nathan "Nabob" Shineywater (guitar/vocals) and Rachael "Rabob" Hughes (piano/vocals) over the phone a little while back...

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Me: Sounds pretty windy where you are. Where are you?

Rabob: We're on the beach in Pensacola, Florida. This place got pretty beat up by Hurricane Katrina, and most of the state parks here are closed, so we've been camping on the beach.

Me: I heard you've been asking fans to bring crystals to your shows, like some kind of unity thing?

Rabob: Yeah! It's funny because people bring them up to the merch table and are like, "Okay, I brought my crystal...umm, what am I supposed to do with it?" and I'm like, "Do whatever you want with it -- play with it, hold it, whatever!" In this culture, everyone's kinda told how to react to things; people need to be guided so much. So it's funny [that] I'm like, "Do what you want with the crystal!"

Me: Do you think people focus too much on your lifestyle, and the drugs and stuff?

Rabob: No, man, we're happy to talk about that because we feel it's hand in hand with the music. One thing cannot be without the other. And you know, we're just tryin' to maintain sanity in a real Babylon kinda world, and all those things help! Hold on one second, I'm gonna pass you to Naybob.

Nabob: I'm doin' goooood, man! I'm standing in the water right now; the waves are breaking.

Me: So is it best to get completely baked before coming to see you guys play?

Nabob: Nobody has to do that, but there's something to be said about a roomful of stoners and what kind of things can be exchanged there on an unspoken level -- oh man, I just found a beautiful shell. I'm sorry, but I'm a little baked on the beach right now!